Armenian Lentil Soup

1 1/2 cups dried lentils (I used red)

6 cups stock or water

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1 cup Onion, chopped

2 - 3 cups Eggplant, cubed (I didn`t peel them and they

added some texture but next time I think I will peel them) 1 1/2 cup Tomato, chopped (fresh or canned, best to

discard the tough stem area) canned, try to remove 1 Green pepper, chopped

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground allspice (can use extra cinnamon instead)

1/4 tsp cayenne or crushed red pepper (I used cayenne)

1 Tbsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp salt

Garnish to stir into soup before serving ----------------------------------------- 3 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint

1. Cook lentils in a large soup or stock pot that has a cover

(the 3qt pot I used was really too small for the finished product) a. Rinse lentils and bring to a boil in stock. b. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 20 minutes (Start preparing and cooking the veggies while this is simmering.) c. Add chopped apricots and simmer another 20 minutes

2. Cook veggies in a big frying pan that can be covered

a. Saute onion in a bit of water or stock till translucent b. Add eggplant and about 4 tbsp water. Stir around and put cover on pan. Cook on low temp til almost tender. c. Add tomato, green pepper, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne, paprika, and salt. Stir. d. Cook covered another 10 minutes or until tender.

3. Mix veggies into lentils and simmer, covered about 15

minutes.

4. Serve with parsley and mint. I stirred them into each

individual bowl of soup so that I could store the unconsumed soup.